


A secret that stays secret

by Sparklegirl54



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Anxiety Disorder, CatCo Worldwide Media, Depression, Disabled Character, F/F, F/M, Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Kara owns her own company, Mentions of Suicidal Thoughts, Phantom Zone, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, The DEO | Department of Extra-Normal Operations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 23:14:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21747229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparklegirl54/pseuds/Sparklegirl54
Summary: When Kara exits her pod on earth the time she spent in space without gravity afaffected her a great deal, in order to assimilate to human culture Kara must first find ways of controlling her new powers which means staying on the ground and a lot of focus
Comments: 11
Kudos: 26





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sa55yCaptain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sa55yCaptain/gifts).



> Topic of mental health my be mentioned and discusses throughout the book if this is a trigger for you i would advise you not to read this.
> 
> I don't own supergirl or anything recognisable in the arrowverse franchise.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara's arrival to Earth and the Danvers' household.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some triggering subjects will be toughed on and explored throughout this fic, so keep that in mind.  
> These include:  
> Anxiety (anxiety& panic attacks),  
> Potential PTSD,  
> Abandonment issues,  
> Chlostrophobia,  
> Depression,  
> And lack of mobility resulting in a wheelchair,
> 
> Could include some flashbacks to Krypton's destruction and the time leading up to it but those are not certain.

Arrival and solution

The pod crashed to Earth, a magnificent fireball of gold and red, flickering through the clear blue sky carving a scar into the mountain as it slid down the slope like a snowboarder. Except there was no snow in Califonia, USA. Inside the pod was a young girl of about 12-13 years old. Wearing singed clothing with matted hair. And small trail of dried blood tracing a line down the girls forhead and there was a small dent in the side of the pod where her head was resting. The pod whirled to life and sent out and high pitched signal designed for Kryptonian ears only, this woke the girl and she activated the computer system and was able to pull out a small portable device and a data crystal for that drive that held all the information in the pod.

She struggled with the opening mechanism in the pod. It had been fused shut during the decent to Earth. She managed to hit the emergency release which would eject the top half of the pod making it essentially unless for another flight. Once collecting everything she could find from the pod into a backpack she set the self destruct on the pod and tried to get as far away as possible in the minute as she could. As soon as the young girl got out of the pod she felt lighter as if the ground was rejecting her. She clung on to the ground and used her strength at create hand and footholds in the ground to use to pull herself along. She managed to get a good 100 meters away before the pod imploded with a sharp pop that hurt her ears a small cube was left but that soon would disintegrate. The signal would carry on for another hour at least, that would stop when the cube disintegrated. By her calculation she managed to get about 3.8 miles away from her pod. She was travelling west to follow the sun so that she would be able to see and still have the powers her mother told her about for longer as she did not know if they would vanish with the setting sun.

She made it another 1.2 miles before a man dropped out of the sky in front of her. "Kal-el?" She asked after seeing the crest on his clothing. "Who are you?" Kal asked his voice sounded threatening the young girl, "I'm Kara Zor-el, your cousin. We were supposed to arrive together when you were a baby." The girl, Kara told the towering mass of muscle above her in broken English the sounds feeling foreign as she produced them. Kal-el nodded having learnt what was meant to happen from his pod's computer when he developed his powers. He bent down and picked Kara up holding her close as he flew her back to a couple of close friends of his who he had worked with in understanding his powers, he hoped that they would be able to take her in and help her as her powers matured and that she could live happily with a steady life that he wouldn't be able to give her.

It was nearing sunset when Kal-el and Kara reached the Danvers' cliff-side house, Kal-el landed and Kara clung to him not wanted to risk floating off, she had nearly been used to the planets gravity when Kal had arrived and lifted her into the sky. She now feared that she might never aclimate to the planets gravity and atmosphere. She had activated her backpack's atmospheric adjuster while they where flying so another couple of hours wearing the backpack and her system would be adjusted to the atmosphere and she would have more ease of breathing. Kal stayed the night at the Danvers' sleeping on the sofa while Kara slept on the guest bed. Before departing the next morning Kal told Kara why she was to stay with these people and that they would be able to help her and provide a stability to her new way of life that he wouldn't be able to do. All this transpired in the guest beddroom as kara was still unable to move due to the gravity difference. The gravity on Krypton was much stronger than that of Earth and she was using a lot of energy to stay anchored to the bed without crushing it. Her first power to show after her senses was her strength. Kara predicted flight to be next as she could feel herself floating slightly in the bed. 

Over the next week Kara's powers had manifested and she was having a hard time controlling them. It wasn't until Alex made a remark about Kara basically being disabled that they came up with then idea to disable Kara with glasses made form a specialsied lead glass similar to they type used in observation rooms for X-ray's and noise cancelling hearing aids which would present her as being deaf and hard of sight. This now allowed Kara to rest and sleep but she was still unable to move around the house without exhausting herself from the amount of energy she uses to keep herself grounded without creating craters with every step. It wasn't until Jeremiah suggested a wheelchair and lead lined leg braces to keep Kara anchored without exhausting her that Kara was able to move freely. As the Guest bedroom was downstairs and had and en suite wet room Kara was able to adapt to this new life, before she was enrolled into the local middle school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All comments and critiscritisisism are appreciated i want this work to be he best possible and i will be editing chapters as i try to re-read all of my works at least once a month. 
> 
> If you think there is something i can do to improve please let me know in the comments so that i can edit my story.
> 
> Please no hate with any topic explored everyone experiances things differently and i base a lot of things of my own experiances, if you think something i have written is false please tell me, and tell me how i should correct myself. I want you to enjoy reading this but i also want to learn how to be the best writer i can be.
> 
> I am unsure as to whether or not Kara's ssexuality will be explored in this. I don't want my Kara to be he same bumbling girl in the TV show but i don't necessarily want her to be over confident and cocky.


	2. First day of (human) school

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara starts at human school and has a lot to contend with on her first day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some sensitive topics are mentioned such as panic and anxiety attacks, if this is a trigger for you then please be advised that this theme is strong in this chapter

When Kara was to be enrolled in the local middle school the Danvers' had the problem of finding a story they could use that Kara could remember that would also account for her now permanent 'disabilities' They decides to stick as much to the truth as was peasable, they would say that Kara's community was destroyed in a wildfire which also put her in the wheelchair, they would say that she was already hearing impaired and sight impaired though she was unaware until her cousin, who had left at a young age, found her and brought her to them where they tested her sight and hearing being doctors themselves.

The following week Eliza Danvers dropped Alex and Kara off at school and ensured that Kara was in her wheelchair properly and that she understood what to do if she became panicked or unsure of what to do. Once Kara had reassured Eliza that she had not forgotten the correct procedure in her accented English she wheeled herself into the office. 

She had been registered as a student the week before but this would be her first time in the school, she was to be given her timetable and a tour of the building before classes started in a half hour, all of her lessons would be on the ground floor so that she could get there in her wheelchair. To play off any of Kara's misunderstandings and astonishment at Earth's customs they would continue with that it was a small isolated community who lived off what the land gave then and nothing more. As she wheeled herself into the open plan office she spied a young teen sitting on one of the chairs by the desk.

"Ah. Kara Danvers, I presume." The blonde woman behind the desk said as she spotted Kara. She beckoned her over, "Kara, this is Masie. She will be giving you a tour of the ground floor this morning before lessons." She said gesturing to the brunette sitting playing a game on her phone by the office doors. "Thank you for arranging this for me." Kara said slowly as she made sure to pronounce every word correctly. This caused the girl Masie to look up at Kara before she stood and swung her backpack onto a shoulder. "Hi, im you guide for today" she said before beckoning Kara to follow her. 

It didn't take long for Masie to give Kara the tour of the ground floor before she left Kara in front of her first classroom she went through the structure of the day as well as her timetable so that Kara's chances of being late were somewhat diminished, the teachers didn't expect her to be on time to all of her lessons as she was new and would have to navigate the busy halls in a wheelchair. 

The day had been going well until it became time for lunch, this meant that Kara had to go through the courtyard to get to the cafeteria. She hadn't had much trouble navigating the halls for her first three lessons as they were all next door to one another. She hadn't been in the courtyard yet as all her lessons where on the one side of the building, it would take too long to go all the way around the inside of the building, and she wanted to eat. Due to lack of space and a distrust of others her backpack was strapped across her legs on her lap so that she could easily access it. 

She had been seated at the front of the classroom for all her lessons near the door so that she could easily maneuver in and out and so that she could see and hear the teacher, she had elected not to have an interpreter as she could hear very well the hearing aids just blocked sound to that she could hear within normal human parameters. The teachers still took this into consideration and gave Kara a print out of the lesson plan so that she could follow the class if she was 'unable' to hear them or read their lips if they turned away. They also tried to make sure to face her as much as possible and not talk when Kara couldn't see them. 

She hadn't yet been inside the cafeteria and she did have a packed lunch in her backpack, but she had promised Alex that she would meet her inside the cafeteria at lunch so she could find out how Kara's day had been so far and make sure that she had settled in. When Kara entered the cafeteria all eyes turned to her as they had done all day in her lessons when she entered or when she left the room. She was able to leave lessons five minutes early so that she can get to her next lesson on time and not have to deal with crowded hallways, this meant that she was first in the next classroom and everyone turned to look at her when they walked in. Not only because she was the only new sophomore but because of her wheelchair. He hearing aids hadn't been visible until she had tied her hair back in the first ten minutes of art class so that she could see what she was doing. 

When she located Alex she moved to join her when a group of boys blocked her path with their feet, the space between tables was only so big and with their feet there Kara was unable to move forwards, unfortunately Alex hadn't seen her yet as Kara turned around the boys behind her did the same thing as the ones in front. They all started talking at once before they started shouting and clapping a whistling next to her ears. This sound deafened Kara and she pushed her hands over her ears whimpering in pain from all the noise. One of the boys grabbed the handles at the back of the chair and started jolting it up and down, another pulled her backpack of the chair and threw it down in front if him. 

With nothing keeping her in the chair with the next jolt Kara fell face first onto the floor. Thanks to having spent nearly a month on Earth she was more adapted to gravity and she didn't go floating, she used as much energy as possible to stay on the floor whilst also making it look like she was trying to get back up, as her legs were 'paralysed' she was only able to raise herself up onto her arms. A third boy took Kara wheel chair and put in on the table, definatly out of her reach. 

It was at this point the teachers on duty took notice and did Alex who rushed over with the teachers, while the teachers moved to boys over to one wall Alex moved Kara's chair down from the table and helped her into it before passing her her backpack. Kara was unable to register what was going on around her, she felt herself being moved but she was trying her to breath, it felt as if she was being choked and she found herselfnunablento open her eyes or move her hands from her face. When she had fallen her glasses had come off and were now in Alex's pocket fortunately not broken. Alex knelt in front of Kara and slowly pulled her hand from her face so that she could put the glasses back in place, she then moved Kara's hands to her chest to feel her heart and the movement of her ribcage with each breath she took. Alex breathed in and out slowly doing the breaths that Kara had learnt to calm down after a panic attack or anxiety attack. 

This had happened the second night Kara had stayed with them and Alex had woken up to Kara scrunched up in a ball on the floor tears streaming down her face, covered in a cold sweat whimpering repeating the word "no" over and over until it just sounded like a noise to Alex. It had taken fourty minutes to calm her down from this first attack but they had been getting better, it now took her only twenty to stop the hyperventilating and for Kara to release the tension in her body. Slowly the tears stopped and Alex leaned forwards to hug Kara who was careful when hugging back. Although Kara couldn't feel it Alex knew the effect this hug had on her mentally as an act of comfort more than an act of physical reassurance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you comment to tell me hat this isn't an accurate representation of a panic/anxiety attack remember that everyone exexperiences things differently and thus is based on my own experiences with panic attacks.


	3. Settling in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still have the usual warnings for anyone suffering with mental health issues, I'm not forcing you to read this. 
> 
> This chapter is a bit lighter that the prevouis one, i think.

After Kara's panic attack she had been sent home and had missed the three remaining lessons of that day, the school had been informed of Kara's fragile mental health when she was enrolled and the use of the schools counsellor had been made avaliable to Kara as soon as this was known. Kara however didn't want to do this as she felt that she might say to much and reveal herself as an alien and not just as any alien but as the older cousin of Superman himself. 

The next day Kara wheeled herself into the building confidently paying no heed to the whispers or lingering looks as she rolled past, that night Jeremiah had added seat belt to the chair similar to one found on an airplane so that Kara doesn't get tossed out her chair again. She had a cover over the clasp and had chosen a red one that was similar in colour to how Rao look from her bedroom window on Krypton as she woke in the mornings.

The boys from the previous day were put on in school suspension for the rest of the week and would have to make a public apology to Kara before the end of Friday's lessons. This pleased Alex as they had been made an example off and people knew not to mess with Kara, she had accepted early on that Kara would change her life and she knew that if she cooperated then she could still have some control over the direction of her life. Before school started Kara had taken Alex flying over the woods that the back of the house faced flying just above the trees they had cover but were able to enjoy the night sky. 

They had quickly bonded over the fact that both of their lives had been forever changed by Krypton's death and Kara's arrival at the Danvers' household. They had both accepted their new reality that would include each other. While at first Alex had been worried that Kara would upstage her Kara and her parents were quick to reassure her that they weren't trying to do this and that is she ever felt this way or any other way sidelined that she could always talk to them and they would sit down together and address whatever was causing these feelings, they made Alex aware that Kara's first few months with them where going to be a learning curve for everyone but as soon as Kara was settled then they could bring this back to how they were before just with a new addition.

Kara carried on with her scheduled lessons, breezing through the work at a human pace, the only problem was that all this work was basic. She was being given problems that she had solved 6 years younger, she did not understand why these teenagers were complaining surely this should be nothing but a recap before this solar sections work was covered. She voiced this at dinner that night about how easy the work in her lessons was, she had not noticed yesterday as the first day was about finding classrooms and seating charts as well as what that course was about, but today she noticed how lacking the education was in this school.

On krypton infants were taught at home as soon as they could make marks and sit in a chair, the lessons where devised around each individuals learning style so that everyone was able to begin education at the age of 2 or 3 years as a opposed to Earth's late start at 5 years. On Krypton they had started structured physical education at 5 years. 

The lessons a child undertook where determined by their family, each child was given lessons for three different jobs Kara was given lessons for Science, Law and The Armed Forces. Using her pods Ai, which she had managed to extract with most of her belongings which now lay at the bottom of her closet in a human duffle bag, she made the decision that night to continue with her lessons in Law and Science as well as the more logistical and tactile side of the armed forces, focusing with the law on Earth's laws and procedures for a better understand her new home.

From her research Earth was a more primitive version of Krypton using Laws both scientific and legal that Krypton had terminated decades ago during the last house was of the Dur-Al's and Ta-Ren's which had lasted only five solar sections, not even a half rotation around Rao. She would continue the use of Kryptonese throughout her lessons so that the language would not die. She would continue her Military training at the weekend in the small grove of trees behind the Danvers' property as she was supposed to be wheelchair bound. This meant that while she couldn't participate in human sports and game tournaments she could still keep up with her physical prowess and tacticile thinking.

A year after Kara's arrival she had been tested out of hight school after a teacher noticed how distracted she was in lessons and then that she had already completed all the work for that weeks lessons in that subject, including things that hadn't yet been taught, as students didn't have access to the curiculum only the handouts that teachers provided. The teacher talked to the principal who contacted Eliza and they agreed to let Kara test out of school. 

After this had happened Kara was able to spend more time on her studies and soon finished her expected lessons. Eliza told Kara that if she wanted to work in any of the field she had studied on Earth that she would have to have Earth quialificarions for the next few years Kara simultaneously earned qualifications in Law to be a lawyer, and also in several different sciences the main ones being bio-chemistry and bio-technology with qualifications in physics and astrophysics. In total Kara held five degrees by the age of 18. By her 21st birthday Kara held a Phd in Bio-chemistry and was working towards a second in Astrophysics. 

Kara had worked remotely on all of her degrees and had scheduled times for assessors to come out to the Danvers' home lab so that Kara could complete and practical assessments that any of her courses required. She was able to do her legal practice debates via video conference once she explained how difficult it would be for her to get to the University.


End file.
